AT&T Nervous About Smooth iPhone MMS Launch

**Rescuer** · 09-23-2009, 11:24 AM

AT&T Nervous About Smooth iPhone MMS Launch - Source says that 10AM Eastern on Friday is the magic hour... - dslreports.com

AT&T Nervous About Smooth iPhone MMS Launch
Source says that 10AM Eastern on Friday is the magic hour...
12:05PM Wednesday Sep 23 2009 by Karl Bode
tags: business · bandwidth · wireless

Insiders involved with AT&T's belated launch of iPhone MMS support tell us that everybody's highly anxious about the launch, as the carrier rushes to beef up infrastructure in order to handle the added strain the functionality will impose on the carrier's systems. Earlier this month AT&T announced that the functionality would be dropping September 25 (aka this Friday). Some users started seeing MMS functionality working last week as AT&T and its partners finalized testing, and most users are being sent an SMS on the coming change.

"Starting at 10AM Eastern (on the 25), AT&T will send out a mass text to a group of iPhone users telling them that MMS now works on their phone," says one source familiar with AT&T's MMS plans. "They will keep doing groups of phones on the hour throughout the day" assuming all goes well, says the source.

According to the source, AT&T is "very" nervous about the launch and is requesting their MMS aggregator partners provide hourly updates on any message delays or problems. AT&T and its MMS partners are already seeing "record traffic during peak hours of the night" with just the users selected for testing.

That early testing has been a little rocky, with AT&T seeing a fairly significant test outage yesterday that has them rushing to beef up their MMSC messaging servers. Estimates among those working on the project are that traffic on AT&T's wireless network will be about 40% higher all day on Friday as iPhone users fire pictures and video at one another.

Given the amount of grief AT&T's been given concerning their network lately, the company needs a smooth MMS launch to stay on the good graces of annoyed iPhone users. AT&T's taken a beating in recent months for belated MMS and tethering functionality, rocky 3G connectivity and coverage, and crippled applications.

AT&T subsequently launched somewhat of a PR offensive aimed at convincing the press and public the company was doing everything in its power to beef up network infrastructure, including additional backhaul links and towers, as well as a migration to 850 MHz spectrum in heavily congested markets.

**TooSlo** · 09-23-2009, 01:21 PM

I'm just dying to see if I might actually get 3G coverage in my office for once!

It's pretty pathetic considering we're 10 miles from Seattle in one of the largest tech oriented areas in the country and AT&T can't even get a 3G signal out to us.

**confucious** · 09-23-2009, 02:30 PM

What on earth has this got to do with your coverage?

I would be very surprised if it does go smoothly but I'm sure they will sort it out.

**TooSlo** · 09-23-2009, 02:34 PM

AT&T subsequently launched somewhat of a PR offensive aimed at convincing the press and public the company was doing everything in its power to beef up network infrastructure, including additional backhaul links and towers, as well as a migration to 850 MHz spectrum in heavily congested markets.

If the MMS rollout goes terribly, which I'm sadly anticipating for my marked, it just might force AT&T to beef up their network in the local area. Considering AT&T has some very large contracts with Microsoft, having their network take a crap on them will likely get MS upset enough to get them to actually make some changes around here.

Considering I work less than a mile from one of the MS campuses which does a large amount of mobile testing, it's been frustrating seeing the campus slowly develop and my service steadily decline.

**MetallicaFan1991** · 09-23-2009, 04:00 PM

I doubt every iPhone user on AT&T will be sending MMS's every second of the day! I don't get why they're so worried, other phones on their network can do MMS, they probably sold more phones that can do MMS last month then total sales of iPhones.
Sorry if I'm missing something here.

**eatdirt1** · 09-23-2009, 04:04 PM

my mms just started working,thats all i care lol.....

**TooSlo** · 09-23-2009, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by A.T

I doubt every iPhone user on AT&T will be sending MMS's every second of the day! I don't get why they're so worried, other phones on their network can do MMS, they probably sold more phones that can do MMS last month then total sales of iPhones.
Sorry if I'm missing something here.

I think that part of the story told why they may be worried.

That early testing has been a little rocky, with AT&T seeing a fairly significant test outage yesterday that has them rushing to beef up their MMSC messaging servers. Estimates among those working on the project are that traffic on AT&T's wireless network will be about 40% higher all day on Friday as iPhone users fire pictures and video at one another.

If you're already running a very taxed network in some areas, a 40% increase in wireless network traffic could be disasterous for some people who rely on their phones for either business or as their only source of communication.

My area already suffers from having to turn off 3G just to make outgoing phone calls on a regular basis. If AT&T can't even provide a working 3G network in the area, what are they going to do when 20,000+ people in just the Microsoft area are using their phones normally, as well as the increased traffic from iphone users, of which there are many on the main MS campuses.

**Garage Battle** · 09-23-2009, 06:00 PM

personally I think users should ban together in celebration of this, umm, delay of basic ability by having a contest to see who can send the most MMS on MMS day.

If we can bring the network down, then it will get news attention, and possibly force AT&T to make the network stronger. That and it would be a lot of fun.

**smittyjf** · 09-23-2009, 06:03 PM

Alot of people just say "My mms started working today"
I wonder if they have added the carrier update floating around and it started working, or has there been an OTA push of the update (and is that even possible)
I suspect not everyone will be waiting to sync and get the carrier update if thats how they do it.

I've had it since March with the sim swap and Media Net registration trick, but there may be different mmsc server settings once they roll out Friday
Smitty

**angiepangie** · 09-23-2009, 06:29 PM

They just added the hacked carrier update.
AT&T has flipped the switch on most, if not all, iPhone accounts though.

Ready for the chaos?

**TooSlo** · 09-23-2009, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by angiepangie

They just added the hacked carrier update.
AT&T has flipped the switch on most, if not all, iPhone accounts though.

Ready for the chaos?

Well, any sign of being able to call out on the 3G network near the main MS campus is gone. I'm honestly glad that I'm not on-call for work this week. Incoming calls are ok on 3G currently, but every single time I try to make a call out on my friends, my wife's or my iphone, we get call failed.

Pop it over to EDGE and we can make calls currently, but it seems things are a bit... lacking.

**one1** · 09-23-2009, 08:09 PM

Tell them we're using it, .....it's working fine.

**Happy Noodle Boy** · 09-23-2009, 08:15 PM

Friday is going to own if only for all the people who will complain online about AT&T's crappy network when it inevitably crashes.

There's no network in the world that can withstand the abuse AT&T's going to receive on Friday. Because believe me when I say that every. single. iPhone will at least send one "lol hey mms".

**TooSlo** · 09-23-2009, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Happy Noodle Boy

Friday is going to own if only for all the people who will complain online about AT&T's crappy network when it inevitably crashes.

There's no network in the world that can withstand the abuse AT&T's going to receive on Friday. Because believe me when I say that every. single. iPhone will at least send one "lol hey mms".

Is it bad of me to know that I plan on sending MMS messages back and forth between my officemate and myself just to make things worse? Even if it's all in EDGE (shudder) I plan on using as much data as possible in hopes that they will finally see it as a kick in the ***.